Thai SEC Warns Against 14 Unauthorized Crypto Operators

Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has warned the public against 14 websites whose operators have been soliciting customers to buy and sell cryptocurrencies and related products. The regulator says these operators are not authorized to conduct crypto business in the country. Currently, only seven companies are temporarily approved for crypto operations.

Unlicensed Operators

The Thai SEC issued a warning on Friday against 14 websites whose operators have not been approved to conduct cryptocurrency business in Thailand.

The commission explained that it has received complaints about these businesses which have been encouraging the public to buy and sell cryptocurrencies through social media. The regulator further warned the public to take caution when solicited to purchase or sell digital assets by unauthorized individuals.

The 14 websites named by the Thai SEC are payniex.com, misterchanger.com, thaiexchanger.com, egtexchange.com, digicardshop.com, superrichexchanger.com, emoneythai.com, i-exch.com, exchangercoin.com, gamershoppings.com, ecurrencyplus.com, ecurrencythailand.com, lnwexchanger.com, and R Exchange’s Facebook page. Some of these websites have removed their crypto offerings after the commission’s warning.

One of the operators on the list, R Exchange, announced on Nov. 18 that its kiosk at Bangkok’s main airport, Suvarnabhumi, had begun offering the exchange of seven cryptocurrencies — BTC, BCH, ETH, ETC, LTC, XRP, and XLM. Its announcement also states that a withholding tax of 15 percent will apply.

Only Seven Operators Allowed

According to Thailand’s cryptocurrency regulations which went into effect in May, companies wanting to conduct crypto business in the country must obtain approval from the Thai SEC, the country’s main crypto regulator.

The commission reiterated that no digital asset operator or issuer has been granted full approval. Seven companies, however, have been temporarily approved while their applications are being reviewed. According to the regulator’s website, six of them are crypto exchanges: Bitcoin Co. Ltd. (Bx), Bitkub Online Co. Ltd., Cash2coins, Satang Corporation (Tdax), Coin Asset Co. Ltd., and Southeast Asia Digital Exchange Co. Ltd. (Seadex). One company, Coins Th, has been temporarily approved as a crypto dealer.

Tdax rebranded as Satang Pro on Sept. 28. The company is currently working on launching a new wallet and “the first digital asset payment platform in Thailand that allows the customers to buy, sell, pay for utility services, and top-up their mobile phones and gift cards,” its website details.

Coin Asset completed its first annual meetup event called Cax Swag on Nov. 11. At the event, founder Sivanus Yamdee unveiled the exchange’s own token as well as its plan to expand globally.

Bitkub also plans to issue its own token. The CEO of Bitkub Capital Group Holdings, Jirayut Srupsrisopa, said early this month that the exchange plans to increase the number of supported coins to 20 by the end of the year, the Nation reported. The exchange also began offering the trading of USDT against the Thai baht on Nov. 19.

Earlier this month, the Thai SEC warned against a few companies promoting their crypto exchange businesses in the country without approval including South Korean exchanges Q Exchange and Coin25. The agency has also issued warnings against nine unauthorized tokens.

What do you think of the rising number of unlicensed crypto operators in Thailand? Let us know in the comments section below.

A student of Austrian Economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests lie in Bitcoin security, open-source systems, network effects and the intersection between economics and cryptography.

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